Body odors change during development, and this change influences the interpersonal communication between parents and their children. The molecular basis for this chemical communication has not been ...elucidated yet. Here, we show by combining instrumental and sensory analyses that the qualitative odorant composition of body odor samples is similar in infants (0-3 years) and post-pubertal children (14-18 years). The post-pubertal samples are characterized by higher odor dilution factors for carboxylic acids and by the presence of 5α-androst-16-en-3-one and 5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol. In addition to the olfaction-guided approach, the compounds 6-methylhept-5-en-2-one (6MHO), geranyl acetone (GA) and squalene (SQ) were quantified. Both age groups have similar concentrations of 6MHO and GA, whereas post-pubertal children tend to have higher concentration of SQ. In conclusion, sexual maturation coincides with changes to body odor chemical composition. Whether those changes explain differences in parental olfactory perception needs to be determined in future studies with model odors.
Unravelling the interplay between a human’s microbiome and physiology is a relevant task for understanding the principles underlying human health and disease. With regard to human chemical ...communication, it is of interest to elucidate the role of the microbiome in shaping or generating volatiles emitted from the human body. In this study, we characterized the microbiome and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sampled from the neck and axilla of ten participants (five male, five female) on two sampling days, by applying different methodological approaches. Volatiles emitted from the respective skin site were collected for 20 min using textile sampling material and analyzed on two analytical columns with varying polarity of the stationary phase. Microbiome samples were analyzed by a culture approach coupled with MALDI-TOF-MS analysis and a 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S RNA) sequencing approach. Statistical and advanced data analysis methods revealed that classification of body sites was possible by using VOC and microbiome data sets. Higher classification accuracy was achieved by combination of both data pools.
Cutibacterium
,
Staphylococcus
,
Micrococcus
,
Streptococcus
,
Lawsonella
,
Anaerococcus
, and
Corynebacterium
species were found to contribute to classification of the body sites by the microbiome. Alkanes, esters, ethers, ketones, aldehydes and cyclic structures were used by the classifier when VOC data were considered. The interdisciplinary methodological platform developed here will enable further investigations of skin microbiome and skin VOCs alterations in physiological and pathological conditions.
Body odor is an important aspect in interpersonal communication. For psychological and chemical research on body odors, suitable procedures for sampling and application, and analysis of body odors ...are essential. In this study, different textile fabrics (polyester, cotton, and Gazin gauze) were comparatively evaluated in view of their potential suitability for body odor sampling by determining recovery rates of selected body odor substances. In addition, the impact of sample preparation and storage conditions on the recovery rates was determined.
The recovery rates of dimethyl disulfide, (E)-non-2-enal, 5α-androst-16-en-3-one, 6-methylhept-5-en-2-one, heptanal and 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol were determined under different conditions of storage (storage for 30 min at room temperature or storage for 30 min at room temperature followed by freezing at – 80 °C for 4 weeks) and sample work-up (solvent extraction with and without solvent-assisted flavour evaporation, in the following: SAFE). SAFE led to overall lower recovery rates with a significant effect for (E)-non-2-enal and 5α-androst-16-en-3-one. Nevertheless, the results showed that SAFE can be an essential step when working with a complex matrix. When comparing the different fabrics, except for (E)-non-2-enal no difference between the recovery rates obtained for cotton and polyester became evident. Gazin gauze showed lower recovery rates for all compounds. Finally, our results showed that the here investigated target compounds are stable during storage for four weeks at – 80 °C.
The results show on the one hand that the here investigated compounds were stable during storage and that the fiber type had limited influence on overall recovery rates. On the other hand, they highlight the limitations of using textile materials for sampling of volatile substances, especially with regard to low recovery rates for certain substances and the necessity of material pre-treatment or distillation steps for enabling GC-MS analysis after solvent extraction.
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•Recoveries of selected body odor compounds were analyzed in three textile materials.•Textile materials were solvent extracted and the extracts measured by GC-MS.•A freezing step (−80 °C for four weeks) did not affect the recovery rates.•Solvent-assisted flavor evaporation influenced the recovery rates of all substances.•Lower recoveries were obtained for Gazin gauze compared to polyester and cotton.
It has been reported that a distinct ‘old person smell’ can develop with advancing age, however, this odour has not yet been sufficiently described in previous research. Sensory evaluation by a ...trained panel might be useful to describe alterations with age in body odour (BO). To evaluate the alterations and achieve first insights into the ‘old person smell’, this pilot study determined the odour profiles of BO samples from both a younger and an older age group with a trained panel. In addition, we aimed to assess whether the panellists can recognize the age group based on the smell of the BO samples. Eight younger (20–28 years) and eight older (80–83 years) participants sampled their BO by wearing a cotton T‐shirt for one night. The samples were sensorially evaluated by a trained panel, including ratings of total intensity and pleasantness. Additionally, an age labelling task was performed as a forced‐choice decision. Results revealed that the odour profiles of the BO samples were very similar for both age groups. Nevertheless, trained panellists were able to predict the age group with significantly higher accuracy (p = .042) than expected by chance (61% mean accuracy over all panellists). Furthermore, a linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier achieved an average accuracy of 69%. This finding indicates that the age of a person affects the BO, though it is not reflected in significantly distinct odour profiles.
Trained panellists established odour profiles for axillary body odour samples donated by younger and older persons and were able to predict the age group with significantly higher accuracy than expected by chance. By training a linear SVM classifier based on the trained panellists' ratings, higher accuracy was achieved. This finding indicates that hints towards the age of the body odour donor were present in the body odour samples.
Scope
Breast milk is repeatedly postulated to shape the first aroma and taste impressions of infants and thus impact their flavor learning. The objective of this study is to assess the transition of ...aroma compounds from a customary curry dish into milk.
Methods and Results
The article prepares a standardized curry dish and administers the dish to nursing mothers (n = 18) in an intervention study. The participants donate one milk sample before and three samples after the intervention. Due to their olfactory or quantitative relevance in the curry dish, 1,8‐cineole, linalool, cuminaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, 4‐hydroxy‐2,5‐dimethyl‐3(2H)‐furanone, sotolone, eugenol, vanillin, and γ‐nonalactone are defined as target compounds, and their transition into milk is quantified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. A significant transition into the milk is observed for linalool, and its olfactory relevance in this respect is supported by calculated odor activity values. In contrast, no relevant levels are detected for the other eight target compounds.
Conclusion
Ingestion of a customary curry dish can lead to an alteration of the milk aroma, which might be perceived by the infant during breastfeeding. The current study also demonstrates that the extent of aroma transfer differs between both substances and individuals.
Flavor transfer into human milk can shape the first aroma and taste impressions of infants and thereby contribute to early flavor learning. During an intervention study, nursing mothers donated milk samples before and after the consumption of a standardized curry dish. Combined sensory and instrumental analyses show a significant transition of linalool in relevant amounts.
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